It was a sight all Central Catholic boys' basketball opponents dream of - Billy McCaffrey in street clothes.

However, for Emmaus yesterday afternoon, the sight of McCaffrey in a sweater and slacks was about the last pleasant thing in view as the McCaffrey- less Vikings still routed the Hornets 78-38 in a rare Saturday matinee at Rockne Hall.

The East Penn Conference game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but was postponed by that day's snowstorm. In retrospect, Emmaus probably wished a blizzard had hit the Lehigh Valley yesterday morning even though McCaffrey, the Vikes' all-everything guard, was sidelined because of a bruised thigh and a touch of the flu.

Last year, the Hornets stunned the Vikings in Rockne Hall in what was considered by many to be the upset of the year. Yesterday, Emmaus never came close to pulling a surprise, instead free-falling to a fourth consecutive defeat and to 5-6 overall.

McCaffrey watched as Central used a team-oriented, crisp-passing offense to run off 22 straight points in the first period, turning a 2-2 tie into a 24-2 cakewalk. Emmaus' first points of the game were scored by Sean McCullough, but, typifying what kind of day it was for the Hornets, McCullough sprained his ankle on the play and played only briefly the rest of the game.

"Emmaus came in here at 3-2 in the league and with a win over Allen, so I have to think that they are not as bad as they might have looked, but rather that we played that well," said Viking head coach Bob Schlosser, whose club improved to 10-1 overall and 5-1 in the EPC. "I've been here for eight years and we've had some big wins, big blowouts and so on, but this is one of the best executed games we've ever played.

"I was real pleased with how we ran the offense. No one stood out, but everyone in there played extremely well. We've proven that we're not just a one-man team a number of times already. But today was a real test because Billy didn't suit up and our guys used it to their advantage to show that they are a real team."

Emmaus head coach Bill Snyder knew the Vikes were for real, with or without McCaffrey. But he's beginning to wonder whether or not his own club's 3-0 EPC start was merely an illusion.

"I told our kids before the game that they are still a good team without (McCaffrey)," said Snyder, whose team's lone bright spot was Jeff Merlet who accounted for more than half of the Hornet point total with a game-high 20. "Of course, they are a better team with him because of the offensive production he gives them, but they have still have a lot of good players.

"We've just been playing badly for about four games now with the exception of the Northampton game (a 72-69 overtime loss). I don't know whether McCaffrey's absence had anything to do with it, but we were just not sharp at all. We weren't getting back on defense and, after making our first shot, we missed six or seven in a row. While we were missing, they were making everything. Before you knew it, it was all over."

Ahead 42-15 at halftime, CCHS didn't even have to score in the second half and still would have won. However, the Vikes got eight more points by Bob Mrazik and four from Bill Hesnan in the third quarter when CCHS extended the gap to 62-27. Even with the regulars toweling off, the Vikes still won the fourth quarter 16-11, thanks to nine points by junior Nick Trella.

Despite the dominance, no Viking fan dared to ask the question, "Who needs Billy?" All CCHS rooters should be happy to know that the Duke-bound star is expected back Tuesday night against Freedom.

"Billy suffered the bruised thigh against Dieruff on Tuesday, but he still was going to play today because the bruise wasn't that bad," said Schlosser. "The thigh was close to back to 100 percent, but then today he felt sick in his stomach, felt a little light-headed and the whole bit. So, I told him not to push it and we would just go with what we got."

Turns out, what the Vikes had left was still much too much for Emmaus.